Paul
the apostle heard there was “fornication”
within the
church in Corinth, and this was “fornication
as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have
his father's wife”.
Some in the church were “puffed up”
and had “not rather mourned”
because of it, and Paul declared though he was “absent
in body, but present in spirit” he
had “judged already, as though” he
“were present, concerning
him that has so done this deed”.
Paul began to tell the church members what to do when the church was
“gathered together”
in “the name of the Lord”,
and his “spirit, with the power of
our Lord Jesus Christ”,
and in chapter five and verse five of
First Corinthians, he continued his instruction as he wrote,
“to
deliver such an one unto Satan”
where we read:
To
deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh,
that
the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
The
verse begins, “To
deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh,...”
Paul began
with the words, “to deliver” which
means “to give over, commit, commend, permit and allow” “such
and one”
or “this kind or sort of person” “unto
Satan”
which refers to “the adversary and prince of evil spirits who is
the inveterate adversary of God and Christ” “for
the destruction”
or “unto and towards the ruin and death of the external ills and
troubles by which lusts are subdued and destroyed” “of
the flesh”
which means “the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence
and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God”. Paul told the
church members to “commit” the “fornicator”
to “Satan”
so his “flesh”
nature would be put to “death”.
The
verse goes on to say, “... that
the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
Paul
continued with the words, “that the
spirit” which
means “in order that the rational spirit and power by which the
human being feels, thinks and decides” “may
be saved” or
“kept safe and sound and rescued from danger and destruction” “in
the day”
or “by and with the last day of this present age and the day when
Christ will return from heaven, raise the dead, hold the final
judgment and perfect his kingdom ” “of
the Lord”
which refers to “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which
he has power of deciding; master and the title given to God the
Messiah” “Jesus”
whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation” and is “the Son of God,
the Savior of mankind and God incarnate”. Paul instructed the
church members to turn the “fornicator”
over to “Satan”
not only so his “flesh”
would be “ruined”, but also that his “soul” or
“spirit”
might be “saved”
when Jesus returns in power and glory.
When we consider these
words from Paul, we see how the “flesh”
nature of this person was “temporary”, and his “spirit”
was eternal. The “fornicator's”
“flesh nature”
had to be destroyed so that his
“spirit”
might be “saved”
forever. Jesus Christ came to give “everlasting
life”, and
when a person “sins” after
the nature of their “flesh”,
He is going to be more concerned about their “eternal”
life than
their temporal one. The church in Corinth was instructed to “commit”
this person to “Satan”
who is the destroyer and came not for to “steal,
kill and destroy”
(John 10:10). However, we are blessed to know Jesus who came “that
they might have life, and that they might have it
more abundantly” (John 10:10).
Next
time Paul tells the church members “your
glorying is not good”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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